Ob with Monoculars

[weixing]

Hi,

So is it advisable to ob with monoculars? Anyone done this before? any side effects on the eyes?

I think we all use a "monocular" before to find object... that call a finder scope... ha ha ha Anyway, the type of monocular you mention are not so popular because it not as comfortable and also smaller aperture than most binocular.

I do understand that Bino gives a wider FOV i.e i could see the entire constellation thru a bino but have not yet tried obbing with a bino...

Binocular give large FoV, but not so large that you can see the whole constellation with it... constellation bigger than most of us thought... We usually use binocular to look for "missing" stars in the constellation which "hidden" by the light pollution or use it to scan the sky and find objects.

Anyway, I have a binocular that I seldom used... the last time I used it was... err... can't remember You can loan it if you like to try out a binoculars.

Have a nice day.

[chrisyeo]

Hello!

i'm new to obbing and not yet familar with the various constellations. I tried it out yesterday on the Scorpius Constellation using the mono with my right eye and my left eye on the star map (against the sky) all at the same time. I realised that I was able to figure out the 'shape' faster... know the name of the stars that made up the constellation. So is it advisable to ob with monoculars? Anyone done this before? any side effects on the eyes?

I do understand that Bino gives a wider FOV i.e i could see the entire constellation thru a bino but have not yet tried obbing with a bino... Question: wouldn't it be a hassle to bring the bino to ur eyes and away when switching between the sky and ur map?

Thanks!

You don't need a mono or binocular to see and identify constellations. Just hold up the map to one of the 'landmarks' in the sky and you're on your way to identifying constellations. You naked eye is best to view constellations. Should be no problem comparing map and sky once you have your bearings.

[Canopus Lim]

Yup astronomy needs patience. With WX's help, I think it will be much easier for you to learn. I learned astronomy without help so I guess people who have help will be able to learn much faster.

I find the beginning step to learning the constellations is to know where you are facing. If you know where is N,S,E,W, and you can pick out the bright stars and correlate them with the star charts. Then by first identifying the bright stars, you identify the less bright stars near it. With an experienced person with you, you will have no problems identifying the correct stars because he/she can tell you if you identified correctly. After identifying the stars near the brighter stars, you can try and trace the stars and follow the lines of the constellations to identify more of those stars that belong to the constellations. That way, soon you will be able to identify the brighter constellations with the naked eye. Those dim constellations will be tricky as you need a binoculars to identify the stars.

[kayheem]

Sometimes, not being able to see something is not poor dark adaptation, but due to inexperience or not using averted vision.

It may help if WX uses a green laser to point out the constellations.